Dear !*SALUTATION*! !*LAST_NAME*!,
Anybody home? - or did you all leave for your holidays already?
This is my last email bulletin for this year, with a report from our Christmas luncheon meeting and a couple of event announcements. But perhaps more importantly, I would like to thank all of you for your support and good cooperation during 2004, and all the kind feedback I have received on this bulletin, THANK YOU!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Report from the Christmas Luncheon Meeting

Dr. Penttilä makes remarks at the meeting

The traditional FCCJ Christmas Luncheon meeting was held on Friday 17 December at the Embassy of Finland attended by 34 members.
Apart from enjoying Finnish Christmas food and drinks, and good company, the participants where also fed with two presentations - Ambassador Eero Salovaara gave a review of the Japan-Finland relations during the past year and introduced changes in the staff of the Embassy compound. Dr. Risto E.J. Penttilä, Director of the Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA gave an interesting presentation on his views on Japan and the business climate in Finland and Europe.
For more about the event and many images, click link at right

Our first Club Evening at Finland Cafe was successful and therefore we have decided to organize another one, this time at the Moomin Cafe & Bakery in LaQua at Korakuen. As the name indicates, the cafe has a bakery where you could buy typical Finnish bread. It also has a shop for Moomin goods.
Details:

Dr. Kuniko Inoguchi served as Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 2003 to April 2004. Dr. Inoguchi attained the challenging post of President to the Conference on Disarmament from 18 August to 31 December 2003, and her efforts during this tenure were highly commended by Member States. She also served as Western Group co-ordinator at the commencement of the 2004 session of the Conference on Disarmament.
For more about Dr. Inoguchi, go to her home page.
Details:

Finnish PM frets over nature of Nato debate
Finland's Parliament will on Tuesday vote on the big issues of the country's security and defence policy. The government is likely to secure the backing of the majority of MPs, but the decision has been preceded by an unusually fierce discussion.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (centre) on Monday defended the government line, which maintains that Finland is still militarily non-allied.
Mr Vanhanen was not impressed by the debate on Nato. In his view it has assumed features which would make even old Kremlinologist blush.
"This has at times been hair splitting of the worst kind," Mr Vanhanen said, adding that the government will say in "plain language" if its line changes.

Christmas shopping
Judge: "What are you charged with?"
Prisoner: "Doing my Christmas shopping early."
Judge: "That's not an offense. How early were you doing this shopping?"
Prisoner: "Before the store opened."

That's all for now, hope you have a nice and relaxing holiday season and talk to you again next year.
The following bulletin will be out on 5th of January.

ABOUT THIS BULLETIN
This bulletin is published by the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (FCCJ) and distributed to over 550 recipients among its members and related organizations.
FCCJ was established in April 1999 to promote trade and economic exchange between Japan and Finland and has today 72 corporate members, 16 individual and one special member.